Reflections on inequalities in research capacity Jimmy Volmink - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Fakulteit Geneeskunde en Gesondheidswetenskappe  Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Reflections on inequalities in research capacity Jimmy Volmink

Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University Director, SA Cochrane Centre, Medical Research Council

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Understanding the nature of inequality in society

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The explanation for inequalities in achievement can most often be found in differences in opportunity rather than ability. Such differences in opportunity are usually determined by imbalances in wealth or power or influence, or some combination of these three.

Champagne glass distribution of global wealth

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World Economic Forum, 2014

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Working for the Few, Oxfam International, 2014

Income inequality by country

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Income inequality in South Africa

Economist 2013

So what?

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Extreme inequality is bad for us all

• 1. Undermines democracy
• 2. Threatens social cohesion and

stability

• 3. Damages health and well-being
• 4. Environmentally destructive
• 5. Economically inefficient
• 6. Unethical

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Inequality and health in richer (OECD) countries

President Barack Obama: “the defining challenge of our era.” Pope Francis: "the root of social ills.”

Fakulteit Geneeskunde en Gesondheidswetenskappe  Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Inequality in research capacity and output

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Number of researchers per million population

Global Research Report – Africa (April 2010) Publications in 2008 More than 7000 Fewer than 20

Inequality in research output

“South Africa : …it is simultaneously a giant within the African context and a dwarf in the international arena.”

Wieland Gevers

Africa’s output of publications indexed on Thomson Reuters Web of ScienceSM databases between 1999 and 2008 The continent’s output was about 27,000 articles per year of which SA produced the lion’s share

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South Africa vs. Brazil

Number of students Number of publications PhD output numbers % academic s with PhD’s University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) 90 000 9000 2400 98% South Africa (all institutions) 899 000 8200 1420 34%

Comparison of the output of South Africa as a country versus the University of Sao Paulo in 2010 NC Gey van Pittius (2014)

Health research output by population group in SA

14 ASSAf CONSENSUS REPORT ON REVITALISING CLINICAL RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA NOVEMBER 2009

Health research output by gender in SA

15 ASSAf CONSENSUS REPORT ON REVITALISING CLINICAL RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA NOVEMBER 2009

Health research output by age group in SA

16 ASSAf CONSENSUS REPORT ON REVITALISING CLINICAL RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA NOVEMBER 2009

Fakulteit Geneeskunde en Gesondheidswetenskappe  Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

What are the reasons for these inequalities in research output?

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Academic staff from Professor to Junior Lecturer at SA universities, 2003-2009, by population group

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DoE HEMIS, 2011 Generic black South Africans make up less than half of the academic staff complement (range 17-91%)

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CREST, 2006

Permanent academic staff in health sciences in SA, 2000-2003, by population group

Academic staff from Professor to Junior Lecturer, 2003-2009, by gender

DoE HEMIS, 2011 Women comprise only 44% of the academic workforce (range 29- 51%)

Permanent academic staff in health sciences in SA, 2000-2003, by gender

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CREST, 2006

Permanent academic staff from Professor to Junior Lecturer by rank, age and gender, 2009

DoE HEMIS, 2011

Women are seriously underrepresented at senior level: Prof (21%) and Assoc Prof (33%).

Doctoral graduates, 1994-2009, by gender and population group

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DoE HEMIS, 2011

Challenges in summary

1. SA’s research output is low compared to other BRICS countries 2. The academic workforce is currently not representative of the SA population: white and male 3. Research output is driven mainly by academics who are close to retirement age 4. There are insufficient numbers of people, especially those in the under-represented groups (URG), moving through the academic and postgraduate pipelines to replace them

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Fakulteit Geneeskunde en Gesondheidswetenskappe  Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

What can we do to address the current inequalities in research capacity?

Begin by understanding the underlying factors

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1) Historical context

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Number of doctors graduating per year, 1966-86 Between 1968-77 production of doctors (per 100,000) inversely related to size of population group

Digby, 2013

2) Current economic realities

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• Poverty
• Inequality
• Unemployment

NDP: key challenges Consequences of economic disadvantage:

• Negative effects on early childhood development
• Poor health and social circumstances
• Lower quality schooling (maths and science)
• Lower participation rate in higher education
• Higher drop out rate
• Reduced likelihood of obtaining postgraduate

qualifications

3) Institutional factors

• Institutional or professional cultures may be alienating

and exclusionary (patriarchal, sexist, racist, intolerant of diversity)

• Work arrangements may not be attractive to women

and/or younger people (Generation Y)

• Lack of role models and mentors for URG
• URG may be expected to spend more time on

teaching, administration and committee work

• Lack of funding to recruit, develop and retain URG
• Non-competitive salaries
• Mobility

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Strengthening the academic pipeline

Attract

• Contribute to improving high school

education

• Raise awareness of careers in science
• Early exposure to doing research
• Mentoring

Individuals from underrepresented groups Independent researcher/ Leader- Mentor Develop

• Skills
• Protected time
• Funding (career development awards)
• Mentoring

Retain

• Economic and social

issues

• Family responsibilities
• Career progression
• Mentoring

Mentorship is everything

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“everyone who makes it has a mentor”

Harvard Business Review, 1978

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Mentors are people who can see more in you than you see in

• yourself. They create a vision and development plan that take

advantage of your own strengths, abilities, and potential for growth. Effective mentors are so unshakably convinced that we have greatness in us, and their vision of what is possible is so clear and powerful, that they wind up convincing us too.

• Prevalence of mentoring varies widely across various

fields

• Important influence on career choice, career

progression, faculty retention and productivity, including publication and grant success

• Individuals from underrepresented groups have more

difficulty finding mentors

• Many different mentoring models ranging from informal

relationships based on shared interests and personal chemistry to formal, systematic arrangements

• Usually comprises a combination of emotional and

psychological support, guidance on career and professional development

• Many unanswered questions

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What do we know about mentoring in the health sciences?

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• Increase research output and sustainability
• Promote excellence and innovation (diversity of people,

perspectives and ideas)

• Improve chances of closing current gaps in health and health care
• Promote social justice (allow people to develop to their full potential)
• Contribute to a more inclusive and egalitarian society
• Improve likelihood of SA becoming a winning nation

In closing

Addressing the current inequalities in research capacity will benefit us all: